Sam Fender has given the full amount of his £25k Mercury Prize cash to the trust for venues, which works to save the United Kingdom's independent live music spots.
The star was awarded the cheque on October 16 as his latest record People Watching was declared the top album of the past year.
Fender has chosen to donate the funds to the Music Venues Trust, in acknowledgment of the essential function small stages had in his initial steps.
"I would not have achieved what I am doing today if it wasn't for all the performances I did around the North East, and elsewhere, when I was beginning," stated Fender. "These locations are renowned, but they are in difficulty."
Beginning in 2023, over 150 of these venues have permanently closed – roughly 16% of the entire UK sector.
Over the past year, major artists including Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all backed the Music Venues Trust in its initiatives to keep the scene afloat, by applying a minor surcharge to their admission fees, which supports independent venues.
Sam Fender also joined in, collecting in excess of £100,000 on his recent tour to support thirty-eight grassroots venues across England, Scotland, and Wales.
These funds helped spaces that were facing imminent closure due to challenges arising from floods, fire incidents and family tragedies, as well as licensing issues, legal disputes and sound issues.
Other venues received monetary aid in upgrading amenities and sound and lighting systems that helped musicians and fans.
"The notion that money from shows in big venues supports the local stages, where it kicks off for artists like me, is just common sense," the star has stated.
The musician is among several artists to give his Mercury Prize winnings to charitable organizations.
Back when they received the award in the year 1996 for their album the album, lead singer Jarvis Cocker announced that the group would donate their cash to the charity War Child.
In 2002, rapper and singer she shared her bounty between multiple good causes, including the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell charity.
"Additionally, I gave a £1,000 to the center, to their gymnastics class, because I practiced gymnastics when I was a child and they required better apparatus," she explained to a publication.
Previously, they contributed their prize money to the local youth club that supported their act, alongside other grassroots music organisations.
Also 1994 winners M People gave their winnings to a multiple sclerosis charity after a close contact was found to have the illness.
"Winning was quite enough," stated vocalist Small. "The cash was the cherry on top but we didn't need the bonus, because we had the main prize. So our winning touched somebody else's life."
In the past week, the trust shared it had saved two grassroots venues in that region, by bringing them into local control.
The first in Southampton and The Croft in that location were acquired under the public acquisition scheme, which is supported by Arts Council England and music fans who purchase "ownership units" in the properties.
